Romantic Gangster

#09

“Take some pizza with you. I think I ordered too much and there’ll be leftovers. If I give it to people passing by, some will complain about who gets it and who doesn’t. I’ll wrap it up and put it in this gray bag for you to take home when you’re done.”

“Ah, thank you. I’ll enjoy it.”

Ji-woo bowed again to the owner who was kindly offering to pack the leftovers, then slowly finished eating the crust before standing up. Though it was just one slice, it was quite large and left him feeling full.

Grabbing a stack of flyers and coupons to distribute today, Ji-woo left the pool hall and walked down the stairs, deep in thought.

‘This time’s collection target isn’t an easy one, so he’ll be busy.’

‘Well, it can be dangerous at times…’

‘Afraid he might be hurt and collapsed somewhere?’

After recalling the owner’s words one by one, he still felt a bit worried. Some might think it’s unnecessary concern, but knowing how difficult and upsetting it can be to be alone when you’re sick, he couldn’t help but worry. He felt he could only shake off this worry if he saw with his own eyes that Hyun-joon wasn’t lying alone injured at home.

“…”

Ji-woo took out the number the owner had written from his pocket, shifted the bundle of flyers to one arm, and pulled out his phone to enter Hyun-joon’s number. After a slight hesitation, he pressed the call button and soon heard the dialing tone.

Once, twice, three times… Even after ringing more than ten times, Hyun-joon didn’t answer. It could be because it was an unknown number, or he might be too busy to answer, but Ji-woo’s imagination kept running towards negative scenarios.

Why am I like this, really? Stop it, stop it. Ji-woo shook his head to burst his bubble of imagination, put his phone back in his pocket, and started walking to where he needed to go.

Hoping to focus on work and not think about Hyun-joon anymore.

* * *

Ji-woo walked into a dark alley and then into another alley within it. It felt like entering a maze. He wasn’t sure how to get out when the time came.

Under a streetlight, Ji-woo looked at the memo in his hand, then lifted his head to look for ’23-2 Haengun-ro 11-gil’, walking slowly while surveying his surroundings.

“Oh! Here it is.”

After navigating through the complex residential alleys and going deeper, he found a house with the exact address written in the memo. Standing in front of it, Ji-woo looked up at the rooftop room.

23-2 Haengun-ro 11-gil, rooftop room. Hyun-joon’s house.

He had tried not to think about Hyun-joon while distributing flyers, but he had failed. So after finishing work, he went straight home, grabbed the memo with Hyun-joon’s address that the homeroom teacher had given him, and left again. It was just past ten o’clock now, not too late to be out, so he didn’t hesitate long before deciding to visit Hyun-joon’s house.

“…”

Wondering if Hyun-joon might answer this time, he tried calling again, but there was no answer. Ji-woo looked up at the rooftop room once more, then at the external staircase in front of him.

The external staircase outside the main gate led directly to the rooftop room without going through anyone else’s living space.

Although it wasn’t polite to visit someone’s house without permission, given the nature of the rooftop room, there was no way to call Hyun-joon without climbing up. So Ji-woo carefully ascended the stairs. They felt a bit steep, but a bright streetlight right next to the stairs kept the way from being dark.

At the top of the stairs, he could see the rooftop room and a wooden platform. It was dark with no lights on, but the faint glow from the streetlight below allowed him to distinguish between the house and the platform.

“Excuse me…”

Unable to go further inside, Ji-woo stood right by the stairs and called out.

“Hyun-joon…!”

Thinking he might have called too softly, he tried again with a louder voice, but there was no sound from inside. It seemed Hyun-joon hadn’t come home yet.

Realizing Hyun-joon wasn’t home, the tension left Ji-woo’s body.

“…”

Should I just leave since he’s not here?

No… I’ve come all this way, maybe I should wait a little bit?

Deciding to wait a bit, Ji-woo wondered where to wait and went back down the stairs. He thought if he stayed up in the dark, he might startle Hyun-joon when he came home later.

Standing under the streetlight next to the stairs, Ji-woo looked left and right down the quiet alley, waiting for Hyun-joon.

10 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes. At 40 minutes, Ji-woo sat on the stairs, tapping his legs. Except for the occasional cat passing along the low wall or strolling in front of him, there was no sound, making it feel extremely quiet.

I’ll wait exactly one hour. If he doesn’t come by then, I’ll just go home…

Just then, footsteps echoed in the alley. Ji-woo stood up abruptly and looked towards the alley entrance. A long shadow penetrated the alley. Even from just the shadow, he could tell it was Hyun-joon.

“…Wow, what is this, really? You still say you’re not a stalker?”

Hyun-joon approached and stood askew, tilting his head slowly. He was wearing a black cap pulled low, obscuring his face.

Ji-woo took in the sight of Hyun-joon walking normally on both feet. Now that he had confirmed directly that he had been worrying needlessly all day, he finally felt relieved.

“Hey, how did you know where I live?”

“The homeroom teacher told me before. In case I needed to visit you.”

“Shit, they’re really leaking people’s personal information as they please. Should I sue the teacher?”

Hyun-joon clicked his tongue, taking off his cap and brushing his bangs back. As he was about to put the cap back on, Ji-woo’s hand caught his wrist, stopping the action.

“What happened to your face?”

“What, are you suddenly surprised by how handsome I am?”

“Did you get in a fight?”

In that brief moment when the cap was off, Ji-woo saw Hyun-joon’s injured face in the streetlight. There was a cut near his mouth, scratches on his cheek, and dried blood at the end of his right eyebrow as if it had been split.

“Let go.”

Hyun-joon shook off Ji-woo’s hand and put his cap back on. Then he pointed at Ji-woo’s face.

“I’m not in the mood to joke around with you right now, so get lost.”

With those words, Hyun-joon climbed the stairs. Ji-woo followed halfway up the stairs, watching Hyun-joon’s retreating figure, then flinched at the sound of the door slamming shut.

“…”

He seems in a bad mood, it probably wouldn’t be good to go up and talk to him, right? Sometimes people want to be alone… He’s walking fine on both feet, what more is there to worry about? I should just go home.

After standing on the middle of the stairs thinking for a while, Ji-woo turned around as if he had made up his mind.

As he was about to go down the stairs and leave the maze-like alley, he kept feeling bothered about what was behind him. He may be walking well on both feet, but… the image of his injured face when he took off his cap kept floating in his mind.

Is he not coming to school because of his face? It must hurt. Does he have medicine at home? It doesn’t seem like he would… Even if he does, he probably won’t apply it properly. If left alone, those will all leave scars…

Even though they weren’t scars on his own face, he couldn’t just go home with the image of that painfully injured face. He didn’t care if it was considered unnecessary meddling. Ji-woo headed to a 24-hour pharmacy near the station, barely making it out of the alley.

On the way, he worried about how to give these to Hyun-joon. If he called out, Hyun-joon would be annoyed, and might even get angry. There was no need to risk getting cursed at unnecessarily, so he pondered over and over about what to do.

“Hello. Can I get some ointment for wounds and some bandages? Oh, and disinfectant too. It’s for facial wounds… Um, do you have any ointment that prevents scarring?”

“Of course. This one is a bit pricey, but it’s really famous for preventing scars. You should reapply it frequently to keep the wound from drying out…”

Ji-woo nodded as he carefully listened to the pharmacist explain how the ointment prevents scarring. Then he paid for the medicine, bandages, disinfectant, and cotton swabs.

Leaving the pharmacy with a small plastic bag of medicine, he wondered how he should give this to Hyun-joon. He figured Hyun-joon probably wouldn’t like having his face seen, so it might be better to leave it on the wooden platform and send a text, or just say a word that there’s medicine outside for him to take and apply.

He thought he wouldn’t be able to find the way twice through the maze-like streets, but having gone there and come back once, it was a bit easier the second time. Ji-woo took a deep breath and climbed the stairs to Hyun-joon’s rooftop room. Unlike before, he could see that the lights were on inside.

“…”

Ji-woo carefully placed the bag of medicine on the wooden platform. Then, looking at the house, he spoke.

“Hyun-joon…! I bought some medicine and left it out here. They say if you keep reapplying the ointment, it won’t leave scars on your face.”

He wasn’t sure if Hyun-joon would hear him inside, but Ji-woo finished saying what he needed to say.

“Even if it’s annoying, make sure to apply it often…”

Just before he could finish his sentence, the door suddenly opened. Startled, Ji-woo took a step back from the platform. He felt Hyun-joon’s direct gaze as he leaned against the doorframe with his arms crossed.